The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program. The new variety originated from a cross pollination of an unnamed, unpatented, proprietary seedling Guzmania wittmackii with an unnamed, unpatented, proprietary seedling Guzmania lingulata. The new variety was discovered by the inventor, Chester Skotak Jr., a citizen of Costa Rica, in Ajauela, Costa Rica during 2004, in a group of seedlings resulting from the crossing.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar ‘Duramar’ was first performed in Belgium by tissue culture, in March 2005. ‘Duramar’ has since produced several generations by tissue culture and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.